BayRat

Spirit Wielders!

A noise rattled out from the severed siphon by Thea, further rumbling after Leah began to drain it. The constant droning noise the tendril made paled in comparison to the massive, earth-shaking thuds of the spirit encroaching closer to the building. The arachnid spewed silky substance of webbing from its mandibles, spraying it over the complex in layers of webbing. The beast tried to pull away the tendril, but the draining and Leah's super strength was enough to keep it from breaking free or taking her with it. Instead, its front leg reached up and severed its own siphon, letting it fall limp to the earth.

Spirit Wielders!

Monday, October 1st, 7:30 AM.

Spirits strike back.

---

It has been two weeks since the disaster that befell Lakewood. With the combined efforts of non-profit relief programs, government intervention, and community activism, the city was finally returning to something resembling its former condition. Business re-opened, roads and walls were patched up, and the school was finally back in a working order.

Aside from the persistent military presence, things finally seemed to be returning to normal. As the highschoolers were awaiting the first period in the cafeteria, a red sunset hue started to invade through the windows. The chattering of students had ceased, birds remained frozen in the air, and cars had become stuck in place. Time seemed to stand still to all but the spirits and those influenced by them. Reality was stained with this red hue, for miles around the town until borders of starlight and darkness cut the way.

A rift had opened once again above the school’s lake. Within the temporal scar, a parallel world could be seen, before closing. Rising from the red-tinted lake was a large arachnid creature. It resembled a spider, though its chitin body seemed heavily armored, possessing a rock-like texture. A giant eye existed under its large abdomen. The spider was about twenty meters across, each of its legs hooked with a sickle shaped barb. On its back, two giant wings that resembled that of a dragonfly lifted it into the air as it let out a startling cry. A fleshy siphon erupted out from between its fangs, extending rapidly and unnaturally. Within the cafeteria, the large fleshy tendril shot through the window and impaling one of the frozen students with several barbs. The siphon then seemed to start sucking in fluids in slow gulps, feeding the spider that was a few hundred meters away.

Spirit Wielders!

Team Dark

A day after the end

---

Steve tended to the camp fire he had set up in the woods, making sure to keep the smoke rising so that witch could find her way. He had hoped the smoke didn't alert any unwanted intrusion, especially from the military, but it ultimately wouldn't be anything more then a nuisance. After all, what could those mortals do? He had regretted not taking any of his servants with him. Life is much easier when you don't even have to lift a finger. His animosity towards his Animus kin only grew the more he thought about how they stuck him on this job. That hag's little pet...

"Oi." A familiar voice rose softly over the sound of the fire. The familiar form of Yui Tachibana had appeared from the woods, her approach almost completely silent. Her usual outfit came with the addition of a pair of jet-black sunglasses, which she quickly removed. A dark suitcase hung at her side.

"Am I interrupting anything?" The PHANTOM agent asked, looking at Steve with a genuine sense of curiosity.

Smoke signals--really, it might have been more discreet to shine the Bat-Signal into the sky. Not that Ravenna really had a reason to question anything about it. Expecting her benefactors to keep their heads in the current trends was probably too much. The medium hummed to herself softly as she ambled through the woods, images with too many unspoken words buried into each detail guiding her path. Somewhat.

Dear little Lyra was probably making it a point to take the barista on the scenic route.

'Lyra, dear, I do have to meet Steve eventually.'

Another flicker of an image. Annoyance. Impatience. Disapproval.

Lyra still cut to the chase, bringing her partner to the appointed destination. One that was occupied by two familiar faces instead of one. Amusing, perhaps. Ravenna flashed her usual smile at both, as though meeting acquaintances at the market instead of in the middle of the woods.

"My, my... I didn't expect a reunion so soon, dears." Lie. "And to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Steve had been dressed in an old-fashioned suit that looked like it came from the 19th century, a tail coat with a black vest and white cotton shirt. Not the proper place to be wearing such clothes, nor was it a modern trend. His hair was slick back, and after he was annoyed by an unwelcome guest, he fetched in his tailcoat pocket for a cigarrete. He'd light it with the tip of his thumb, before placing the smoke in his mouth. He leaned back on the log he sat on with his left leg crossed over his right.

"Well this meeting was for Animus only." He grumbled towards Yui, before he turned his attention to Ravenna's Arrival. Right on time at the very least. "But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have you stay. I am sure the both of you are aware of the sudden...emergence of rogue spirit-wielding activity that spiked along with that raid we pulled."

"Perhaps it wouldn't have spiked if you hadn't needlessly attacked so many civilians." Yui said with a glare. "A life in danger is a great opportunity for any Shade looking to make a Pact." While moments ago she was in a good enough mood to return Ravenna's smile, said raid was still a sobering subject for her. She took a deep breath and let go of her aggression; better to look towards the future, for now.

"Though I don't see why this "spike" has to be a bad thing," Yui said, turning her gaze towards the trees. "At least for PHANTOM. It could be quite the opportunity, if we play our cards right."

"Hm... I can't say I appreciate competition as much as the next person." The words were murmured under Ravenna's breath, the only hint of their contents left in the faintest fade of her default expression. A surreptitious glance drifted over toward Steve, quickly hidden behind a fluid transition to inspect her nails before she spoke for her audience of two. "Well... I certainly hope that I don't step on any of PHANTOM's toes then, dear. I'm afraid I'm not given much information to work with."

Ravenna wasn't entirely sure that was a lie.

"Though I suppose there aren't many cards little old me can play in this situation, yes?"

"We shouldn't have any trouble if you get them to defect to PHANTOM, but otherwise, they present an unknown variable in any further effort made here." He said before turning his attention to Ravenna. "Given your location of business in this town, I had to come to inform you that you're expected to... investigate anyone that happens to be like you. Nothing sinister, yet anyway, but we need to find out what kind of people are making contracts, and if they will be an obstacle in the future. More urgent, however.." He puffed his smoke, as he looked back between the two. "The titans we faced on the lake were the original guardians, but the removal of the orb and their destruction as left a rift between our worlds. Its expected that more spirits will enter this world through it periodically now. I suppose that would make it an ideal place for research among your PHANTOM folk, but there will be obvious potential for disaster here." The man tapped out his smoke, as he smirked over to the witch's pet. "Of course, if you were working for me I'd make sure you'd have a safe place to run your business."

"We know," Yui said with a nod. "My friend has been very interested in the lake since we received the key. She's been making me gather samples." She gestured to the suitcase at her side.

"These Spirits, though..." She continued, staring into the distance with a thoughtful frown. "Who are they, exactly? Those who were banished after the first Pact? Are you hoping to recruit them to ANIMUS?"

"Many of them are, I presume, however much of them are simple minded or feral. Some can be recruited, but many of them will just get in the way. With our little girl scout here, hopefully she can pick out which ones want to talk and which ones want to bite."

"Hm, such high praises. I'm sure I don't deserve them," Ravenna said. Part of her came to life at the thought of the assignment, a part that she wasn't comfortable with quite yet. So many years chasing it, and now she didn't quite know what to do with it. Fill? Bury? Flood? An airy laugh escaped her. "I'll be certain to leave some honey out for the flies then, though I'm quite certain that even I will reach maximum occupancy."

At least, that would have been the ideal.

"Though perhaps PHANTOM might be interested in any spirits that I can turn to a fresh recruit?"

"Perhaps," Yui said with a nod. "Any Spirit that might share our vision is of great value to our cause. I think it would be greatly appreciated." Of course, recruiting Spirits or Mediums was proving to be quite the ordeal, but perhaps that wasn't the best thing to say out loud.

"Of course, if we can't recruit them, then I humbly ask that you continue to allow me a share of the spoils." Yui produced her most recent card seemingly from nowhere, the image of a large wand shimmering faintly in the light. "They have proved to be extremely... lucrative." She wasn't sure if that was quite the right word, but she suspected it was close enough.

"Either way, unrecruited spirits on a feeding frenzy will prove to be an annoying obstacle. I'd like to emphasise that while we can recruit them, we aren't opposed to sending them back to where they came from. Ravenna, and I suppose you too since you seem to be hanging around, expect danger a bit more frequently here..." He motioned, as he looked over to the empty treelines. "Course it ain't only other spirits we have to worry about, I think those mortals know something too; keeping their soldiers here and all."

"Of course they do," Yui spat, letting out a weary laugh. "Not even one day passed by and the bastards already started rolling out plans to militarize the entire country. They knew something like this was going to happen and they knew exactly how to profit off of it. I think you should watch your backs; they're more of a threat than they seem."

"Well, humans are known for putting their noses into business that they don't belong in, yes?" Though it wasn't like Ravenna didn't understand. There were things that spirits were capable of that humanity simply wasn't. "I could always do a little more prodding if my dearest benefactor feels the need. That aside..."

Her smile grew.

"Using my name now, dear? Such an honor on this little pawn."

Steve rolled his eyes at her. "Don't get too attached dear." He smirked. "Regardless, Yui, you are right. We have to be a bit more careful here." He'd look over to the camp fire, as he smothered it with a boot. "We'll have to spy on them too. The last thing we need are spirit wielders joining their ranks."

Yui nodded.

"It's something I won't be able to help with." She admitted, frowning. "I've had to do my best to lay low. Let me know if you ever get the chance to get more... confrontational with them, though."

"I don't think subtlety is one of our fortes. I'm sure we'll tip you off if explosions don't," Ravenna chuckled. Though she had to be fair, there hadn't really been explosions in their last little tiff--just very large guardians and veritable monsters. The woman twisted a stray lock of hair around her finger as she leaned lightly against a tree. "Dear little Yilan and I can handle reconnaissance to an extent. So long as it doesn't lead unsavory types to my little cafe."

Steve nodded to the both of them. "Good then, well, thats all the info I had to share with you." He yawned as he stretched his arms. "All this travel just for that..."

"I'd best be on my way, then." Yui said, giving a quick wave. "Take care, you two." She put her sunglasses back on and slipped away into the woods.

"Well, she's an interesting one, isn't she?" Ravenna hummed. "I wonder what we can expect from our dear allies in the future."

It might be interesting, after all.

"Maybe you'd like to discuss it over some coffee, dear?"

He'd nod to Yui as she left, before turning back to Ravenna. He had an awful grin.

"That sounds just lovely, 'dear'." He mocked, as he put out the fire with his boot. "You'll have to cover my tab though."

Skybound

Cowboy

Samuel 'Sam' Thatch

Age: 29
Gender/Sex: Male
Race: Human
Ship role: Gunner/Artillery

---

Personality

Samuel is a cocky, wise-cracking show off who has a bad habit of telling tall tales about himself. Stories ranging from killing an elephant-sized bear to how he survived a great flying tentacled monster with just his wit and some improvisation. He loves being the center of attention, and enjoys light teasing and humor to his colleagues. He's well known for his lust for adventure and thrill-seeking.

---

Appearance

Sam stands at 6'0", moderately tanned, and built well enough. His eyes are brown. He usually wears his 'cowboy/rancher' get-up of a hat, light-brown leather jacket, matching pants, and a white shirt. He has dark brown hair, a bit messy, with some stubble he keeps around the chin. He's got a few scars along his face, with his stories for them change every now and then. His default expression is a sly smirk.

Background:

Samuel Hails from the island of Merrison, a moderately sized land within the Izma Taiva; infamous for its 'dry spell'. It rarely rains in that region, leaving most of the place a dry prairie. The land is mostly used for cattle farming, though several small towns have cropped up here and there around what few bodies of water and small forests exist in the region. Samuel grew up on a ranch, herding cows and hunting the local wildlife near his farm. To this day he swears he took down a bear the size of an elephant. Regardless of his stories, anyone from his hometown that knew him can attest to his marksmanship skills. In addition to hunting animals, by the time he was a late teenager he was known for shooting or scaring off thieves. While he was complacent with his life at home, inspired from the stories at the local town when he was a child, Samuel was inspired with a sense of adventure and thrill. This early developed curiosity for the world outside and its adventure was what lead him to leave and put his marksmanship to good use. At age 20 he had joined up on the Fornacis, 5 years before they broke apart. In the later he had made himself a name as a bounty hunter across several islands, and has made quiet a few enemies as a result.

---

Skills and Equipment

Samuel has an uncanny talent of being a good shot with just about any ranged weapon, provided he's had a chance to test out its range and accuracy first. From handheld weaponry to mounted cannons on the ship, Sam is reliable when a good aim is needed. As a hunter he knows well enough about cooking to prepare his own meals, but by no means is he a professional chef.

Ol' Faithful: A lever action rifles with a revolver chamber, holds up to six shots and meant for long range.

Trusty Seven: A seven chambered revolver, considered to be his 'lucky side arm', with some engravings on it meant to help its 'luck'. Plenty of stories around it, primary used for medium range combat.

Bear-killer: A double barrel shotgun used for close-ranged combat.

Weed-trimmer: A standard Machete used for general purposes, though also a last resort weapon if he ever runs out of ammo.

Waterskin: Water is an important resource and Samuel always make sure he has his filled whenever he goes out.

Jerky: For his personal rations he prepares his own dried meat, willing to share a few over long journeys when needed.

Skybound

Cowboy

Samuel 'Sam' Thatch

Age: 29
Gender/Sex: Male
Race: Human
Ship role: Gunner/Artillery

---

Personality

Samuel is a cocky, wise-cracking show off who has a bad habit of telling tall tales about himself. Stories ranging from killing an elephant-sized bear to how he survived a great flying tentacled monster with just his wit and some improvisation. He loves being the center of attention, and enjoys light teasing and humor to his colleagues. He's well known for his lust for adventure and thrill-seeking.

---

Appearance

Sam stands at 6'0", moderately tanned, and built well enough. His eyes are brown. He usually wears his 'cowboy/rancher' get-up of a hat, light-brown leather jacket, matching pants, and a white shirt. He has dark brown hair, a bit messy, with some stubble he keeps around the chin. He's got a few scars along his face, with his stories for them change every now and then. His default expression is a sly smirk.

Background:

Samuel Hails from the island of Merrison, a moderately sized land within the Izma Taiva; infamous for its 'dry spell'. It rarely rains in that region, leaving most of the place a dry prairie. The land is mostly used for cattle farming, though several small towns have cropped up here and there around what few bodies of water and small forests exist in the region. Samuel grew up on a ranch, herding cows and hunting the local wildlife near his farm. To this day he swears he took down a bear the size of an elephant. Regardless of his stories, anyone from his hometown that knew him can attest to his marksmanship skills. In addition to hunting animals, by the time he was a late teenager he was known for shooting or scaring off thieves. While he was complacent with his life at home, inspired from the stories at the local town when he was a child, Samuel was inspired with a sense of adventure and thrill. This early developed curiosity for the world outside and its adventure was what lead him to leave and put his marksmanship to good use. At age 20 he had joined up on the Fornacis, 5 years before they broke apart. In the later he had made himself a name as a bounty hunter across several islands, and has made quiet a few enemies as a result.

---

Skills and Equipment

Samuel has an uncanny talent of being a good shot with just about any ranged weapon, provided he's had a chance to test out its range and accuracy first. From handheld weaponry to mounted cannons on the ship, Sam is reliable when a good aim is needed. As a hunter he knows well enough about cooking to prepare his own meals, but by no means is he a professional chef.

Ol' Faithful: A lever action rifles with a revolver chamber, holds up to six shots and meant for long range.

Trusty Seven: A seven chambered revolver, considered to be his 'lucky side arm', with some engravings on it meant to help its 'luck'. Plenty of stories around it, primary used for medium range combat.

Bear-killer: A double barrel shotgun used for close-ranged combat.

Weed-trimmer: A standard Machete used for general purposes, though also a last resort weapon if he ever runs out of ammo.

Waterskin: Water is an important resource and Samuel always make sure he has his filled whenever he goes out.

Jerky: For his personal rations he prepares his own dried meat, willing to share a few over long journeys when needed.

Spirit Wielders!

The Aftermath

---

In the day that followed the disaster, news spread like wildfire. Survivors told their accounts, and evidence had leaked far too wide to be covered up. The relief responses were immediate. Nonprofit organizations came to provide food, shelter, and aid in reconstruction. The Coast Guard started to perform hourly patrols, a local military force with militia recruitment had been set up in the woods between the city and the suburbs. School had been cancelled for two weeks due to the damages and casualties. Hospital tents and makeshift infirmaries were created from old buildings and parking lots to help care for the mass of injured victims of the disaster. Although a terrible incident, recovery had been surprisingly swift. Almost as if they had been expecting this to happen. Across the nation, news outlets broadcasted a state of address from the President himself, Michael Quintons.

"My fellow Americans. It is with great sadness and horror that I report over the disaster at Lakewood, Maryland. This was not the result of any natural disaster, or simple terrorist attack. Strange monsters have laid waste to the humble city. We do not know much of this enemy, but we know they came from the sea. We believe that these attacks will continue, and thus we will make our best efforts to repel such a threat. Effective immediately, we will have defensive measures across every bit of land in this great country. I implore all to remain near or within the closest city available to your location, as there is strength in numbers. More updates will follow on this strange threat. God Bless America."

News outlets covered what footage had been leaked of the incident: Sightings of violent crustaceans and a great white beast. A sky alit with flames and towering monstrosities. Humanoids flying across the sky. It wasn't of the best quality, but enough to capture attention world wide. The public has now been made aware of spirits, or at least, the surface level threat of them. Though exact information of these monsters and heroics weren't elaborated on by officials, much speculations and theorycrafting has went around from aliens to super heroes to wizards and demons.

Interaction Period

So another easy down time period of 2 weeks before school kicks back in. Characters are free to do whatever, pm me if you want to interact with some established NPCs.

Spirit Wielders!

Titan Fightan | 11:45 EST

A collab with @PapiTan@Kamen Evie@Scribe of Thoth@banjoanjo

Boss Fight

An echoed disorted cry escaped from the massive trio, creating a shockwave of pressure strong enough to knock Steve off his feet. The titan in the front, Alpha, took one step forward. The gait of the beast was slow, bringing up its leg revealed the slag-like stump of a foot. It brought it down onto the shore with a heavy, earth-ruptured thud. Elongated fingers darted outward, with its left hand focused on Yui, theright focused on Rav.

Just as Steve got to his feet, he was taken off guard by a bright light. The 'eye' of the left Spirit, Bravo, focused on him, its light blinding. The asshole covered his eyes from the intense rays; he was unable to feel himself be lifted off the ground. By the time he did take notice, he was already being abducted, floating through the light at a rapid pace towards the gaping hole that the light escaped from. He could see it burn brilliantly with a massive, golden flame; the source of the light and its 'eye'.

The third Spirit, Charlie, Started to move towards the right. It seemed to just want to reposition itself onto the shore. However, just as it brought its foot up for the first step, Ryleigh made his retribution. The shark-beast emerged out from the murky depths, and clamped its jaws over the leg of the giant. Both its teeth and the spirit's odd skin cracked at the force. Blood splattered from the jaws of the shark, yet it continued to hold. It thrashed about with violent fury; combined with the factors of the titan's own weight and that it was now only supported by one leg, it collapsed backwards. Like a falling pillar the spirit back breached the water and tumbled into the depths. A drawn out, disorted, 'cry' (Similar to Alpha's), escaped it as it slowly fell beneath the water. One mighty hand fell onto the shoreline, fingers gripping the soil and crushing trees that happened to be in its path. It was starting to pull itself up.

'D-Did you beat them?'

'None can bear my might.'

'Um... that's nice. I-I need to get my phone and-- Venga? V-Venga, sir?'

Less than a minute later, a gargantuan lizard charged out and tackled the shining being's legs with the full force of its weight, sharp protrusions from its body piercing into the creature. Trailing not far behind was a girl, soaked to the bone, sprinting breathlessly and watching the exchange with wide-eyed horror.

'Rust, Dagda, Tyet.'

Ravenna took off from the floor, small puffs of dust kicking up where she had pushed against the earth, a quiet inhalation all she needed for an elegant evasion through the fingers of the beast. Not between, through. The woman's body passed the outstretched hand like air as her available spirits followed the semi-spoken command. Dagda and Tyet returned to their sealed states while Rust reformed into his catalyst, the staff easily falling into Ravenna's grip the instant before she met the air.

Once airborne, the barista took a quiet breath. This wasn't really her speed, especially not with two enormous beasts having a match she didn't want to interfere in and--

'--oh, Steve. You really are a handf...ul?'

Another gargatuan beast tore into the fray, tackling the giant with Steve in what Ravenna could only assume was its grasp, her chest tightening in an unpleasant, hollow ache as it did. Now that was a feeling she thought she'd long since abandoned. Bitter, unpleasant, hollow, longing, painful. How unpleasant. But there were other things to think about, so Ravenna chuckled to herself as she conjured four runic blades, dull pink light moving with a sweep of the staff to catch the would-be victim of a freefall on their flat sides.

She darted after the blades, her amused expression still in place as she came to a halt above her (uncomfortable) makeshift platform.

"Care to show off some of that strength, dear?"

Yui, on the other hand, wasn't doing nearly as well. The quake had caught her off guard, she had only barely managed to avoid the Spirit's attack with a clumsy roll, and now her hands were trembling, her thoughts clouded with a petty desire for violent catharsis. She gave a couple wild kicks to the creature's arm, feeling its "bark" crack and splinter against her foot, and gave a dissatisfied grunt.

Strength... Right.

Yui backflipped high into the air, getting some distance between herself and the trio, and removed the card from her belt, replacing it with another; Strength. She huffed as she felt overwhelming, absolute power course through her body, her armor becoming clad head to toe in bulky, chitnous black and brown plating. Any further tactical thought was rapidly overcome by the desire to tear her foes apart.

Alex stumbled onto periphery of the battlefield and froze, not sure how to react to the presence of all these people already engaged in combat with the... things. Drawing off his experience with the two girls earlier, he tentatively decided everything that looked like a human was probably an ally for now, to say nothing of the giant lizard that seemed to be locked in melee with one of the three monsters.

He closed one of his fists on instinct - or was it his spirit's subconscious goading, it was getting harder to tell in this form - and shortly after felt a sudden weight manifest in it. Between the gaps in his fingers, the same ramshead amulet he kept around his neck when not transformed rested on his palm.

'You desire safety. Throw it,' The Ram ordered in the back of his mind, an unfamiliar eagerness in its voice that Alex had never heard before.

So, he did; Alex tossed the medallion upward, and it erupted into a mass of organic matter that stunk of mildew and rotting meat. Woody tendrils intertwined into the rough shape of a body as The Ram stretched to its full height - made much less impressive, in Alex's opinion, by the literal titans battling just a short distance away. The spirit simply observed for the time being, not rushing headlong into the fight as Alex had expected it would do, given its earlier sense of urgency.

Blood ruptured from cracked stone and torn roots from the lizard-spirit's impact. A disorted cry echoed over the woods as the titan slowly collapsed from the sheer force it endured. The ray of light had ceased as it fell backward, released Steve from its power. Although caught by that witch, he didn't fully appreciate the rudimentary, uncomfortable 'floor' she had created for him. He was torn between showing off, and leaving them to fend for themselves. More importantly, he didn't recognize the new spirit that just appeared, a rogue spirit? Perhaps a spirit wielder...This was getting interesting.

"Oho, so the princess wants my help hmm?" Despite the danger of the scenario, the prideful bastard wanted to milk it as much as he could. "I'm a bit disappointed you don't want to take care of it for me, I'm not the servant here. But I'd be willing to grant you the honor of seeing my form, at a price."

He paused for a moment, and acted as though he was going through made-up costs in his head.

"Let's say...one grand. I take checks of course."

"Oh, dear, I thought you might have learned by now that I'm a lover, not a fighter," Ravenna cooed from the safety of her perch. "Nobody expects much from a little pawn like me, but I can't imagine that my dear benefactor will approve of her toy being broken when someone like you was around."

"That hag..." He grumbled to himself at the thought of her 'benefactor'. Her toy was persuasive if nothing else. "Oh fine... I suppose it would be a shame to lose that pretty face of yours. $200."

"If you're that hard up, dear... why not?" The coy smile that played on the woman's lips and a distinct lack of concern for the danger she was in was anything but subtle. "As long as we keep the orb, yes?"

"Maybe none of you will get to keep the orb since you're not DOING ANYTHING!" Yui roared, having lost any notion of "passive" aggression, and charged back towards her foe.

Bravo fell into the lake with a great impact, water erupted upward and coming down to add to the storm's precipitation. The damage inflicted by Venga spread further up its leg from the impact, due to a weakening structural integrity. Titan Alpha however, continued its assault. Its attention focused to the transformed Yui, as Ravenna had fled into the air. Since Yui had gotten some distance as well, the giant moved with haste out of the lake. It took three long steps, each shaking the surrounding earth with tremendous weight. Its hand clenched into a fist, with an arc-motion, it aimed to crush her like a hammer.

If Yui were thinking clearly, she probably would have tried to avoid such an attack by simply moving aside.

Instead, she tried to catch it.

She let out a mighty cry as she pushed up against the titan's hand, her boots sinking into the mud. Though she strained against the Spirit's efforts to crush her into the dirt, she held her ground nonetheless.

"Yui?" The doctor's voice rang through Yui's helmet. "What's going on?" The PHANTOM agent rolled her eyes and huffed at the question as she attempted to shift her weight.

"Engaging the targets, obviously!" Yui growled, taking a tiny step forwards.

"I appreciate the pressure test, but you don't usually act this... rash. Your heartrate has been abnormally high, too."

"GET TO THE POINT!" Yui yelled, taking another step.

"Another spike."' Harper noted absent-mindedly. "I'm getting readings from an abnormal amount of unaffiliated Spirits nearby. Could be related. I'd advise switching back to Justice, you might be able to blow it off that way."

"You couldn't have told me that a minute ago?!"

"No. Good luck, Yui."

And with that, the PHANTOM agent slid the titan's arm aside, lunged forwards, and grabbed it by the wrist. She dug her heels in and pulled as hard as she could, determined to either topple the beast or pull its arm clean off... Maybe Harper had a point.

While one hand was occupied in lifting Titan Charlie, the other had successfully taken ahold of Ryleigh. The white spirit writhed around violently, like a fish out of water. The titan started to crush him, though thanks to his tough and slippery skin, it bought him some time. The root-like fingers made sure to imprison him in the grip, however, so the beast tried in vain to bite away at the many fingers and stony flesh.

Mackenzie was leaned up against a tree, sparing only occasional peeks at the scene. Thank goodness everyone seemed to be too distracted with the battle, she was in no shape to run now. A piercing sense of shock had taken her limbs. Alarm bells were screeching in her head, amplified with every rapid heartbeat that rattled her thin frame. It took so much to even just keep her breathing stable.

She knew this feeling. Lived it to some extent, every single day. It was different now though. Unnatural.

She lowered herself to her knees for some stability. 'Is this... you?'

The beast gave no response, crying out another "YAHAHAHA" instead and bombing itself into the water where it aimed to clench its jaws around the enemy's neck.

Upon noticing the shark-like being's distress, The Ram seemed to have found an adequate target, rushing at the hand Titan Charlie had rested on the shoreline. It leapt and dug its gnarled talons into the titan's fingers like a cat climbing a tree, aiming to climb its way to the top of the hand. As it went, mycoid tendrils snaked out of the nooks in the spirit's barklike skin, lapping at the titan's flesh to seed it with speckles of crimson spores. With any luck, the giant wouldn't even notice it had been infected until the spores had taken root and its hand was eroding from the inside out.

Alex, in the meantime, cowered behind a nearby bush like the brave warrior he was. Every few seconds he poked his head out to check his spirit's progress and watch for any stray giant monster limbs coming his way, but for the most part, he was just trying to stay out of sight - be it by titan or other human.

Yui's strength began to slowly overtake the titan. Alpha's wrist started to crumble, as roots were being disjointed by the constant pull. It eventually gave way, the entire hand of the titan disconnected from the wrist, the immense weight of the hand now free in the agent's grasp. The exchange caused the titan to stumble back, nearly falling into the water, a soft murmuring hum escaped the hole on its face.

The roots that supported Charlie's infected hand began to rot away. As the roots wilted, the rocky body it held together started to crumble. The titan noticed far too late, as it withdrew its hand closer to its face as if to inspect the damage. Clumps of stone and wilted bark fell, showering the water below with its debris, it presumably wailed in pain, though the disorted noise was too alien to relate. Though roots and stone still trapped Ryleigh, its weakened and rotting structure made it that much easier to tear through. A triumphant, bestial roar escaped the shark-spirit as it dove back into the water; free.

Bravo fought against the weight of its attacker. It stood abruptly from the waters, though it was unable to free its throat from the jaws of the pompous lizard-spirit. The stony flesh started to crack as the roots that held it crumpled under pressure, the spirit's blood sprayed outward with some insignificant hydraulic pressure around the beast's jaws. The titan then moved left to right, in a rhythmic, shaking motion; trying to force Venga off of it with the swinging motion.

Steve had turned his attention away from the Rav to take a look at that action. Did he really need to help? The last he watched was Ryleigh slipping into the depths of the lake, before he returned his attention to that witch.

"Tell you what princess, consider it an I.O.U.." He grinned to her just before he started to crouch. "I'll show you what a real king of a spirit can do."

Flames began to erupt off the body of Steve, his shit-eating grin vanished under the veil of heat and light. Those bat-like wings returned, though they too, we're soon consumed by fire. Heat and Spiritual energy began to rapidly build up from the source of the fire.

The titan's movements did nothing to deter Venga. Its teeth gnawed in further, clawed limbs scrambling against the enemy for a foothold. Something to lever against and tear this cur in two.

Yui wore a determined smirk, the titan's hand smashing into the dirt as she held it at her side. She knew it might be a good idea to swap out, but she also knew a great opportunity when she saw one. She flipped a switch on her belt, and the card slot on the side began to glow with heat. Steam even began to form from the rain that had previously coated it. Yui began to feel the departed Spirit's power go into overdrive, every muscle in her body burning like it was on fire. She could lift that hand like it was nothing now. She felt like she could flip over a mountain. Or a continent. Or-

"A Remnant Charge?" Harper questioned. "Are you sure?"

"Of course," Yui responded, her breathing heavy. "I've got the upper hand." A quiet sigh was her only response. She got a good grip on Alpha's hand and pivoted, swinging the giant fist around before holding it above her head and hurling it straight at the hole in the face of its former owner.

As Charlie brought its crumbling hand closer to what The Ram could only assume acted as its face, the spirit released its grip and vaulted itself upward in a leap toward the titan's "eye". Its mycelial tendrils extended again, though rather than continuing The Ram's fetid assault, they now served as a means of gripping Charlie's barklike skin should The Ram's talons fail to secure a purchase. It had little choice but to crawl around like an annoying tick on the giant at this point in time, given Charlie's height, but as long as it was still over the water, The Ram figured it would be prudent to keep it occupied.

The Alpha titan had prepared a counter-attack, but wasn't fast enough; The severed fist had made a heavy impact to the face. Both the hand and head of the titan crumbled away rapidly from the force, as the body fell backwards. Slayed, the spirit's descent slowed as its body disintegrated in the air. Spiritual flakes rose from the dissolving form with disorted static. The water was barely disturbed, as the last of the behemoth faded away. It had left behind only a remnant: A large black orb. The remnant radiated with black disorted static, similar to the energy that had escaped the vortex prior. It floated in the air just above the lake's surface.

Charlie struggled about, wounded and enraged, it tried desperately to attack at the Ram. In futile efforts it tried to grab hold of it with its other arm, but failed to catch its assailant. In addition to use of its arm, it tried to move about as if it could shake the spirit off of it.

Ryleigh peaked his head out from the lake to observe the action, his attention shifted from the dissolving titan, to the distracted Charlie, and then lastly towards the great flowing light and heat. He knew that energy well, and he is somewhat pissed Steve would be so reckless. With a desire to avoid being caught up as a collateral, the shark-spirit dove back further into the lake and waited.

i.imgur.com/4cpPHgX.jpg

The growing fire where Steve once stood then exploded into a blinding light, like a second sun had briefly formed to deliver its blinding glare. Followed by the light was the battlecry of another spirit; a loud guttural screech. The light faded abruptly with the arrival of a serpentine figure already flying in the air, moving from where Steve had been originally. Green-scaled, winged, and forked tongue; the monstrosity was about as long as the titans were tall.

With the return to his power, all steve could think about was "Kneel before me, insects." Unable to speak in this form however, this translated to a drawn out screech. The dragon flew with great speed, Flames frothing off of its open maw as it charged into Charlie. He bit down on the Titan's side with burning fangs. The section of torso crumbled under the crunch. Fresh roots depeserately tried to fill the void left in its torso as the titan's weight started to shift. Before it could recover, however, the ANIMUS Spirit shot a breathe of flames outward onto the fresh injury. The roots we're incinerated immediately. The rapidly spreading heat caused the body of the titan to light-up with molten cracks. The melting of stone and disintegration of roots caused the titan to rapidly fall apart beyond the point of its original injury. One last moan escaped from it as it, like Alpha, began to dissolve into the air itself; though this time from two seperate halves as it was torn asunder from both the bite and breathe. A remnant had formed just above the water where it had crumbled to, Steve flying off in a continued path.

The sustained wound on Bravo's neck grew from Venga's continued grip. The physical stress had worn enough now that the head was now halfway off the body; which hanged loosely to the left side as more of the spirit started to crumble. With one last effort, the giant tried to fall to the lake, positioned where it could crush the overgrown lizard between itself and the lakebed.

Venga gargled out some muffled taunt and allowed its legs to dangle once more, propping it against the weight of the titan. There it would aim to readjust its jaw and finish it off in one last chomp.

Yui took a deep breath, beginning to come back to her senses: She'd simply watched at all the carnage unfolding around her, but all of it simply rolled over her without really processing. She was still riding that high of satisfaction to the point that she only now noticed the armor beginning to fade away from her power suit.

Oh, right... This one's spent.

She removed the now faded card from her belt and shuffled it back in with the rest, pulling up two more to replace it; Justice, which she loaded into her belt, and The Hanged Man, which she loaded into her arm. She tried to keep her mind sharp as her armor changed to once again embody the locust Spirit's power, focusing on her tight grip on the kusari-gama that had appeared in her hand. She shifted her focus to the Remnant's power, drawing on its more nuanced powers...

Through the height of the storm, a particular gale of wind pierced through. Far from the turbulence around it, this one had a sense of direction and purpose that resonated with the souls it touched. Yui felt the fog going through her mind begin to clear, and gave a quiet sigh of relief, reflecting on her actions just seconds before with subdued embarrassment. She looked back to the Remnant left behind by the Spirit she'd destroyed, focusing power into her legs as she swung her chain around at her side.

The PHANTOM agent leapt high into the air, soaring high over the surface of the lake, and swung the chain towards the black orb left behind by Alpha. It wrapped itself around the Remnant, and Yui pulled the chain back in, the Remnant already beginning to reshape itself in her hand as she fell back down towards the water.

The Ram scrambled across Charlie's skin, desperately trying to maintain its position on top of the titan as the creature tried to swat and shake it off. Not that it mattered, as Steve obliterated the behemoth in a single swoop. From there, The Ram had little choice but to cling to the burning husk as it toppled down toward the water. It wasn't necessarily assuming foul play was involved, but there was always the possibility that glorified flying reptile wanted The Ram out of the way to consume Charlie's remnant itself.

The spirit dug its claws in and rode one half of the titan along its descent, pushing off before it impacted to dive into the water. Its barklike skin splintered under the force of the collision, but the damage was too superficial to truly be a hinderance. After it regained its bearings, The Ram swam for the surface, ever mindful of any falling debris from Charlie's body.

Alex, in the meantime, had fully removed himself from his hiding place behind the bush to gawk at the destruction - and more importantly, his submerged spirit partner.

They were all so eager to throw themselves into the fray, weren't they? Ravenna had made certain to move herself out of harm's way once the fighting picked up, ever-observant eyes drinking in the sights. If the woman were honest, she'd already gotten what she wanted--a little more information, a little more exposure--and it had come at the relatively low cost of a dip in the water.

'You could try to get that Remnant.'

'And put myself in danger? Are you certain you're Rust?'

'You're not interested.'

'Well now, I can't say I have that much need for it.' The woman sighed softly to herself. 'But I suppose if you're so dissatisfied, I could try. A bit.'

She really wasn't that interested though. Power was best left for people that needed it, and certainly, Ravenna wasn't a woman that chased it. Dusty rose hair swept behind her lithe figure as she cut through the air, her breath stilled in her lungs as her body passed through crumbling debris, her staff held firmly at her side. Maybe it would have been safer to use Rust's abilities--no, maybe not. Obstructions were difficult enough to deal with, much less trying to navigate through them with a poor attempt at a runic weapon used as a vehicle. The medium came to a clean stop by the Remnant herself, Lyra's intangibility fading from her with a single exhalation as a delicate hand reached for the blackened orb.

She really wasn't that interested, but if it made one of her darlings happy, then she could do with the effort.

Venga's bite finished off the titan, the jaws cleaved through stone and root. There was a deafening cry that escaped the falling, severed head of the titan as it started to crumble. The body of the spirit remained in place, falling apart piece by piece. As cracks rapidly ruptured over its body, a blinding but harmless light escaped from those veins.

By the time the head reached the water, The body exploded into dissolving chunks and light, leaving behind a remnant that slowly descended to the surface of the lake.

Yui's remnant twisted and spiraled into a small explosion of light, similar to the death of the last titan, only that there was a surge of electrical force that harmlessly moved around her. It was always a strange sensation, no matter how many times Yui had felt it. As she fell back beneath the waves, she held her arm forwards, watching as the power snaked its way up her wrist and into her hand, threading and compressing itself into a flat rectangular shape. The agent shuffled the blank back into her belt; it wasn't ready yet. She began her swim back to shore, reluctant to fly back if it meant losing control again.

Steve had still been climbing heights rapidly in his ascent far above the lake, though in a U-Shaped formation, he directed himself towards the ground and slowly made his descent towards the shore. Ryleigh had already beaten him there, using 2 of his arms to climb about onto the surface. The fish-beast shaked its body like a wet dog.

The three guardians had been defeated, 2 of their remnants remained, one within the reach of Ravenna, the other closer to Venga. The lizard grinned beneath the water and closed its mouth around the light.

Yui climbed out of the lake, and a strong gust of wind blew her armor dry. She took a good look around the shore, her eyes settling on a curious figure hidden behind a tree. A young boy in an odd mask... She knew a Medium when she saw one. She scanned about for any more as she made her way back towards Hurricane, and the key. Maybe someone should have been watching that...

"Oi, Harper." Yui said, putting a finger against her helmet again. "We took care of the three Spirits. Managed to get a Remnant, too."

"Excellent." The scientist responded. "What about the other two Spirits?"

"Haven't given us any trouble... yet. There's at least one Medium here, might be one of theirs."

"I see. You've given me enough test results for one day. Securing that key is your priority." Yui nodded in response, before realizing that Harper probably couldn't see it.

"Got it." The agent answered, pressing a button on the Binding Chain and watching as spiritual power returned to the motorcycle. It revved as if it were stretching as it morphed into its black, unsealed form. She picked up the key and kept the Medium in the corner of her eye, deciding to pretend that she didn't see him.

Alex froze as he heard the motorcycle revving, then swayed side to side hesitantly as if debating whether to run back into cover or not. He'd been so caught up in watching the spirits clash that he forgot to take into account that there were probably other people like him in the vicinity too. If machinery was working again, that at least meant it was over, right? He had nothing to worry about; the other mediums were probably on his side. Probably. The boy reached down to check his phone to confirm electronics were actually working, only to be met with the realization that it wasn't in his pocket. It must've been under his outfit, but he had no idea how to get it off without The Ram around. That meant he needed to go collect his spirit. From the lake. Where all the scary monsters were still swarming around those floating orb things.

He deliberated for a few more seconds to build up courage, then just bolted for the water. As he approached, a clawed hand broke the surface and dug into the muddy shoreline, followed by an impressive pair of horns. The Ram completely ignored Alex in favor of gazing at the other two remnants as it rose from the water, its hollow eyes somehow managing to portray a chilling amount of anger. Or maybe that was just a consequence of their mind link thing. Alex really had no idea how any of this worked.

"Is, um, is everything alright?" Alex questioned sheepishly as he neared the spirit, his posture sunken and anxious like a messenger sent to deliver bad news to a ruthless tyrant.

The Ram shifted its attention downward at the approaching mortal. 'I underestimated the amount of spirits in the vicinity and have been denied my prize accordingly. There's nothing more for us here.' Then, the spirit simply started lumbering back in the direction of the school, with Alex quickly falling into step behind the creature.

The serpent spiraled into the parking lot, deforming just before he made contact with the ground. In plumes of light and smoke, the dragon-spirit vanished. Steve then moved out from the dispersing smoke, towards the lake with a cocky grin.

"How about that for strength, huh?" He called out.

Ryleigh, meanwhile, was still adjusting his injuries. A long tongue licked bleeding cuts and bruises from the fight. Teeth were already in the process of regrowing to replace the ones that were damaged or lost.

Venga snarled at the spirit. Its eyes glanced along its long form, sizing it up. Another low grumble and its skin began to shift, hardening into something formidable.

"I stake my claim on this territory. Take your leave before I--"

The lizard burst into particles and wisped its way towards the school. The specks of light returned to a girl hobbling away from the lake, breathless and shaky.

Yui watched as the Spirit dissipated. That's the last of them...

She picked up the key and wrapped it up in her now thoroughly soaked clothes, tying the arms of her jacket around the makeshift cushioning. Ideally she would have selected something more respectful, but it would have to do for now. She picked it up and strode towards the parking lot.

"We've got the key," Yui stated flatly, giving a look to each of her allies. "I suggest we leave."

Ravenna took a gentle hold of the Remnant--by which she really meant she had barely touched it before it began to do its own thing. It wasn't exactly surprising that her spirits might be interested, but Ravenna had expected Tyet or Lobo to have been the first to make a suggestion to chase power. That Rust had was...odd, even by her standards. The barista hummed softly as she drifted through the air, giving only a languid motion of her hand toward Yui in response. More important and more pressing matters were at hand.

'Satisfied?'

'Hmph.'

'Good to hear, darling.' A satisfied smile played over the medium's lips, another grounding sense of fulfillment burrowing into her chest.

"It's been very enlightening spending time with you, dears, but you have a point. My darling Lobo might try and eat my date if I stick around too long," the woman chimed, her tone almost a pleased hum. With a pleasant laugh and an expression that spoke more of a casual stroll through the park than of witnessing and evading a battle between giants, Ravenna gave a final wave. Its levity hardly seemed appropriate. "Feel free to come visit me whenever you need, dears."

But from the way the woman was subtly gaining a slight altitude, it was evident she didn't plan to stick around.

Ryleigh made some odd low-pitch sound toward Yui, seemingly in agreement, as he already started to stroll at the direction of the ocean. "Yeah we better get going, your lot can play around with that orb, but we expect to learn about whatever you find with it." Steve stated to Yui as he began to follow. "Oh and make sure your hag knows how much I helped you today." He smirked up to Ravenna as she started to fly away.

Yui only gave a delayed nod in response, beginning to wonder if ANIMUS even cared about the key in the first place. She swung her leg over her motorcycle and gave a quick wave before she sped away into the storm.

Spirit Wielders!

The Lake | 11:15 EST

A collab with @PapiTan@Kamen Evie

---

Collab

‘Should have left.’

‘Oh, don’t be such a bore, Rust.’

‘Makes my job hard.’

‘Hmm, but you do a good job, don’t you?’

‘Why stay?’

‘Well… you’ve been bored too, haven’t you?’ Ravenna hummed to herself out loud as she watched the city from her perch in the sky. ‘Lyra was going stir crazy too.’

An image of an ocean view flashed into Ravenna’s mind, a clear indication of the spirit’s disapproval of having stuck around. They had a perfectly good reason to go on a trip, didn’t they? Could have done anything they wanted. An-y-thing.

‘Sorry, Lyra. Maybe another weekend.’

Fortunately, with the world so concentrated on the disaster on the ground, Ravenna was free to travel the skyway, seated on Rust’s catalyst like a makeshift broom, as it were. Could she have helped? Probably, but that seemed like an unnecessary risk to herself and her adorable spirits. That, and she'd managed to piece enough information together to dodge most of the problems she could have foreseen. No need to fight when she could just... skip the formalities and get to the final course, after all. Tyet scoffed, a bizarre noise translating itself as disagreement. It would have been able to fight. Better than the other spirits in the fold, at least. Ravenna chuckled to herself, an affectionate warmth prickling through her chest.

“Now, now, don’t be jealous, Tyet. You do a wonderful job keeping the Foxhole safe.” Mismatched eyes narrowed against the sharp winds passing through the trees as she watched the pair before her with a keen interest. Really, people needed to be more careful about what they handed over to her. Especially when they were people of interest—a rarity with Ravenna, honestly.

“My, my, you certainly took your time,” the barista called with a melodic taunt to her voice as she descended from her low perch in the sky, though she remained off the ground. Out of respect for Lyra, of course. The poor thing didn’t need to be drenched in lake water after being denied a quick trip, after all. “The roads were rough, dear?”

The mildly frustrated biker looked to the familiar Barista, at first with unveiled annoyance, then with a shit-eating grin. "Well well, if it isn't that witch's pretty little pet. I didn't think you'd stick around." He said as he turned fully, intentionally trying to block her view of his obviously wrecked bike. "Have you finally decided to ditch that old hag for me?" He'd stroke back his messy wet hair with his hand, as an excuse to try and cover the head injury he suffered from his crash.

Hm, it might have been nice to be a pet. A step up, maybe. Not so reliable though. Ravenna didn't voice that particular thought.

"Oh, darling, you know she isn't that generous." A pause. "...well, to you, at least."

But even that was hardly accurate. Frankly, Ravenna was entirely certain that the strangely fulfilling sense of grounding that she got from her current daily life would be difficult to achieve a second time. That, and she wasn't exactly stupid enough to think that her current entourage was actually interested in the human that was Ravenna Fairchilde. "But maybe one day, dear. You've certainly held my interest for longer than most."

"It must be my good looks, I-" He was cut off by, silence? The man paused as he seemed to listen in to the insect trinket he was holding. "Oh I'm sorry, you think I like having my talents be wasted as your damn messenger?!" He shouted. "I am a fucking legend and you have me sit back and watch this oversized guppy-" A torrent of water knocked him off his feet before he could finish, ruptured from the gills of the shark. He got up, seething with anger. He tried to play it cool however by fixing his leather jacket.

The momentary lull was broken by the sound of yet another motorcycle, emitting a loud roar that eventually showed to a gentle purr as it slowed to a halt. Off it stepped Tachibana Yui, already fully covered in her armor. She gave a curt wave as she stepped off the jet black machine, a judgemental stare hidden behind her helmet.

"PHANTOM sends its regards," she said with a nod. Her English still held a notable accent to it, her voice giving the occasional hint of struggle with what her mind understood. "Though speaking for myself, I hope you don't squabble like that all the time."

"Hmm, I imagine it's usually worse," Ravenna chuckled, the levity in the words blatant even without the light chuckle that accompanied them. Her eyes trailed toward the spirit responsible for the surge of water, and the barista smiled despite the storm at large with a respectful, if subtle, bow of her head. "Am I wrong?"

The man brushed his messy hair to hide his frustration at the new arrival and the comments of the barista. "There is certainly a lack of respect for my talents and ability among my kin." He stated in protest. "I mean can you believe it? The great and mighty steve reduced to baby-sit this overgrown piece of shit." As he gestured to Ryleigh, the head of the beast reared up with the torrent of water ceasing and dispersing back over the lake's surface. The head turned, its maw was open to reveal its oversized human-like teeth, widening into a smile.

"S-Steve?!" Yui repeated, her polite facade crumbling away as she broke into uproarious laughter, her hand shooting up to cover a mouth that was already hidden. The sight of a Spirit sharing her amusement somehow made it even more funny. "And just when I think I have seen everything..." Even Hurricane seemed amused by the revelation, the bike's engines emitting a quick sputter and a puff of smoke.

Ravenna maintained her smile, another prickling warmth crossing through her as she noticed the smile of the larger spirit. She moved through the air as though it were in her nature, lazily drifting toward... Steve.

"Aw, there's no need to make fun of Steve. I'm sure he's doing his best, given the circumstances." There was a subtle knowledge gnawing in the back of her head, a sense of discontent from both Tyet and Rust as the medium placed a gentle hand on the man's shoulder, only to allow slender digits to trace along the side, barely brushing against more sensitive skin along the neck before lingering. "These are greater responsibilities than could be given to anyone...lesser, yes?"

Steve had been glaring at the Phantom agent, and was about to speak, but Ravenna got to him first. Steve raised an eyebrow at the barista, first to her hand, then to her face. "You are absolutely right, however.." He'd place his hand over hers, coyly at first but it sharpened into a tight grip. He wore a wicked grin. "I don't remember giving you permission to lay your hand on me." There was a direct contrast now with how unnaturally warm his hand felt and the cold rain around them, a glint of red and yellow twinkled in his stare, then he leaped into the air. Leathery, bat-like wings erupted from his back as he flew, spinning with her, about 3 meters off the ground. At the end of the twirl he leaned closer to her slighty, like the end to a dance. Just a tease though, as with unnatural strength he'd then toss her up further into the air, assuming she could catch herself with her abilities just fine. He quickly descended with the wings retrating into his flesh, as he looked to the PHANTOM agent with a cocky smile. "Do you want to mess with me too?"

So that was it. One found new information every day, didn't they?

Ravenna caught herself about as gracefully as one could expect to in the moment, the easy smile never leaving her face as she readjusted herself to a seated position on the Staff of the Armory, the only real sign of her little trip the windswept nature of her hair and clothing, and even that was groomed as she returned her descent.

"My, my, there's no need to be rude to our guest, dear." Hm, was it unnerving to be so calm? Ravenna racked her thoughts despite the nonchalance of her demeanor. She was fairly certain it was, if experience served. "I may not mind your rough play, but it's not very becoming toward a new face."

Yui looked up, having been lost in thought for a moment at the sight of "Steve's" display. She had only heard of such a thing; it was another experience entirely seeing it for herself.

"I don't mind it," She admitted, a somewhat playful tone arising in her voice. "I am in a similar situation to "The Great and Mighty Steve" to be honest. If I get to work out my frustrations "messing" with him it ends up serving our cause just as well."

He crossed his arms as he looked to Rav with her 'cute' comment and back to the PHANTOM agent. "Oh don't pretend you know what its like to be in my shoes, all your kind is good for are for food and servitude. I however, was born to rule." He said with an overdramatic, dorky flare, even turning his head to the side in an attempt to do a 'hair flip' with non-existent bangs. "You two peasants could never understand."

Yui's hand balled up into a fist. Even her own Spirit had never been so arrogant.

"My purpose," she started, trudging towards her rather irritating ally. "Is mine to decide." Her bike rolled in front of her, as if to block her path, but she simply shoved it out of the way and continued forwards until she was right in his face. She seethed for a moment, before regaining some small speck of composure.

"Though for someone who thinks of us as servants," she concluded, "You seem to enjoy taking our form, Steve." She had imbued the name with a particular venom, determined to get all the mileage she could out of it.

He was composed, even bearing that shit-eating grin as she approached; as if he enjoyed watching what he thought was a worm get enraged. However that look changed upon her last sting. That seemed to have ticked a nerve, a twitch of the eye even. The rage was barely hidden behind his scowl. Despite his anger, he didn't seem to have a retort to that. A 'chuckle', if you could call the odd, loud, and deep sounds escaping the monster on, broke the silence. Ryleigh seemed to like Yui's comment. Steve's silence was broken. "Oh shut up you." He hissed at the shark-thing.

From her roost, Ravenna watched, judgement lacking in the placid expression she wore in observation. Interesting. Very interesting. Moreso than the tedium of running the cafe like clockwork when things were peaceful.

But not really fulfilling either, if she let herself think too much on it.

The woman smiled just as easily as ever.

"Now, now, we're on the same side right now, aren't we?" But the words lacked much conviction, as if she wasn't entirely thrown behind them. "It might be in our best interests to play nice as long as we are, as it were."

Yui gave a short huff, feeling that she had made her point. Her stance slowly sunk back into something more lax.

"Of course," she said dryly. "I'm eager to see where this alliance takes us." She glanced at Ryleigh before her gaze settled on the lake itself.

"Let's hope this mission of yours pulls through." She added, her tone carrying a subtle nudge of urgency.

"Which reminds me." He regained his composure. "I suppose since you here we should let you know that we found a key to yggdrasil, so I've been told anyway. Dumb bitch here was in charge of getting it but it seems like he can't get to it for whatever reason." He looked to Ryleigh, then to the trinket in his hand. "Alright alright lets give him a voice." He seemed to talk to the inanimate trinket. He then made a baseball pitch with it towards the monster's face. The cockroach trinket became animate, catching itself on the skin of the beast and remaining planted to it.

The beast made several disgruntled noises, and following its beastial sound, a voice echoed from the trinket.

"Barrier blocks way, keeps spirits out. Need Drill, or human." It had no cadence or rythmn either, much like text-to-speech, almost robotic.

"Shit."

"Y-Yggdrasil?!" Yui stammered, unable to comprehend what she'd just heard. "The Great Tree?! You're telling me there's a... a key to it right there?!" Her deep breaths were audible even through the roar of the storm. She raised a finger to the side of her helmet.

"Harper," She said. "Are you getting this?!"

"Of course," A voice responded, just barely audible outside of Yui's helmet. Her tone was surprisingly unenthused by the discovery, to the point that Yui wondered if anything could faze her at all. "I'll need a few minutes to run a satellite scan and analysis. Don't try going through it until then." Yui nodded, reaching to grab a card seemingly at random from her side and insert it into a slot on her free hand. A large revolver began to materialize in her hand.

"I think I'll lend a hand." Yui said with a smirk, giving the cylinder a quick spin.

"Oh, my..." Whatever surprise that Ravenna had felt was repressed in its external reaction. So close to home? Or perhaps she had been given a keen interest solely because of the proximity. Her gaze returned to the shark-like beast for a long moment before gradually turning toward the PHANTOM agent. Surely brute force wasn't necessary if they had humans ready and available. With a reluctant sigh, the barista allowed herself to drop to the floor, her boots and staff dissolving away into a small bird and cat.

It might have been a little out of her depth and a bit beyond the scope of her job description, but there were so few ways a human could be useful.

"If we are in need of a human, I could make myself useful here too."

"Barrier tough to break, key, at bottom. Swim." The monster said. Steve, however, kept his arms cross. "I suppose if you two want to take over in its recovery go ahead, the faster we get over this road block the better."

"I see," Yui said with a frown. She aimed towards the lake and fired a couple of dismissive shots from her revolver, watching for the explosions as they collided with the barrier. "I was hoping to avoid getting wet today." The agent brought her finger up to her helmet again.

"Are you finished yet?" She asked.

"Almost," The voice responded. "I'm getting something about fifteen meters down. Spherical. I would recommend breaking that barrier, though. It's going to interfere with the Remnant Gear."

"Then I won't bring it." Yui said firmly.

"Well you're going to catch a goddamn cold, Yui-" The armored agent simply rolled her eyes as she removed her cards, her armor vanishing into thin air. She paused for a moment, feeling the rain run down her face and hair before she took off her coat and belt, throwing them on her bike as it faded into its Sealed Form.

"Are you going in too, comrade?" Yui asked, turning her gaze to Ravenna as she leaned over to remove her boots.

"It wouldn't be very fair of me not to, dear." Even if she would have loved to avoid hopping into the lake. There were things that she didn't savor the idea of touching. Like algae. Or god forbid, leeches. Rust swat at the back of her calf in response, the closest equivalent to a frown he could make as a cat peering up at her as soon as her attention was taken. "As if you wouldn't come running if there was trouble."

Another swat, this one firmer than the first. Ravenna sighed, but dropped her channeling all the same, kicking her work shoes behind her.

"Now that was uncalled for, Rust." But nonetheless, the hairtie on her wrist and the eerie doll attached to it seemed to dissolve into nothingness--at least, for anyone incapable of seeing the shimmering pegasus and the rabbit-like figure lingering in close proximity. Sending a mismatched glance at Steve and the larger spirit, she gave a calm smile. "I presume my dearest darlings will be safe with someone as great and mighty as you while I'm gone?"

"W-well of course only someone as mighty as myself could do such a task!" It was really that easy. "just don't drown yourselves you two."
The shark beast laid down on its side, seemingly try to relax as it did so. Steve, meanwhile, remained standing in the rain.

"I won't," Yui said flatly. "Don't touch my stuff." She shoved her shirt, pants, and socks under her coat in the vague hopes that it would manage to keep them dry and immediately ran for the water. She tried to get in as quickly as possible rather than worry about the temperature, swimming across the surface until she had determined she was close enough to the center. She turned back to her allies, hoping that her impromptu diving buddy wouldn't take too long psyching herself up.

As fortune had it, beyond the brief initial faltering of the ever-present smile--there might be something slimy and foul in there!--Ravenna didn't seem to care much more as she sank into the water, clothing and all. Which, she realized, was a terrible idea, but the algae. And the leeches. She'd rather take a ruined set of clothing.

...though, she had to admit... swimming with all of it on felt cumbersome. Everything was heavier, like moving through thick cream instead of water, but her progress was quick either way. Strong might not have been her forte, but it wasn't like she ever let herself fall out of shape.

"So much for worming my way out of this in high school," Ravenna murmured as she drew close to her companion, but even the complaint lacked any real resolve. "Here goes, then."

She took in a deep breath, grateful, suddenly, for how restricting some of Lyra's abilities had been, and slipped beneath the surface of the water, trying her best to block out thoughts of slime and muck all the while.

The water was of poor quality, brown and murkey. However a light slowly manifested in the dark as they dove further in, a blue condensed bubble held its form, like some kind of shield. It seemed to stretch from most of the lake's bottom, in what presumably was a half-circle. The water inside the barrier was noticeable much more clear then the surrounding murk. Of note, what would presumably be a lakebed of muk and algae was instead a sea of giant twisted roots, all of which seemed to flow towards the presumed lake's center.

Yui frowned as she stared through the water. It felt like her eyes were burning, but she would have to ignore it for now. She swam ahead and tentatively stuck a hand through the barrier. Nothing. She spun around to face her companion and made an OK signal before quickly diving through.

Well, that probably didn't mean "stop".

Ravenna followed after the PHANTOM agent, equal parts curious and relieved. Clear water was good, certainly, but something about the whole thing felt... off. A nagging feeling in the back of the barista's head. It couldn't be that easy, could it? Surely something would have done exactly as they were if it had been. The unease didn't last long though--it never did anymore--as it melted away into something else entirely. They'd fix whatever bridges they had to when they reached them. Probably.

Or whoever came next would.

Towards the center of the lake, where the roots all seen to converge on a single point, a twisted tree-like pillar spiraled 10 feet off of the lakebed, its top sprouting in what appeared to be almost a gnarled claw, the many fingers curling in a more natural fashion. At the 'palm' of this was a perfectly round orb; glowing faintly in the light of the water. Obviously the key they had been referring to. It seemed unguarded, as there weren't even any fish or invertebrates near it.

Swimming towards the claw, Yui considered a more cautious approach for a moment. If it was a trap of some kind, she might not make it out of the lake alive. Still, she had little patience when it came to this key, and she'd be damned if she let Animus run off with it before she could at least feel the artifact for herself. She ran up to one of the "fingers" and gave it as sturdy of a blow as she could manage underwater. Unable to notice any reaction, she paddled forwards and wrapped her arm around the glowing ball. It felt smooth, like marble, and surprisingly light; she could easily carry it back to the surface with her. She turned to face Ravenna and gave a thumbs up, moving her hand up towards the surface a couple times to emphasize what she meant. She pushed off the surface of the pillar and began swimming back up.

Upon removing the orb, the barrier dissipated entirely. Murky and clear water merged together seemlessly. The growing dark caused the hand-like tree to slowly whither and curl downward into the soil.

Upon this, Ryleigh had already entered the water. His body coasted near the surface, shark fins breaking the surface. He moved towards the pair, and circled. Awaiting their recovery from above. Steve was watching still from the safety of a tree, his eyes squinting out to the lake.

Yui took a long, gasping breath as her head popped out of the water. She twisted about in the water for a moment, trying to regain her bearings, and swam for the shore. As she stepped onto dry land, she brushed her wet hair out of her eyes, working at it with her hands until it fell back into its usual chaotic order. She placed the orb down on the grass next to Hurricane and looked around for a towel.

Oh right, she didn't bring one. Well, a little algae never hurt anyone.

"That takes care of the key." Yui announced. "Is that your only mission here?"

"Essentially." Steve shrugged, as Reyleigh breached the surface to join them. "Looks like we got it befo-"He was unable to finish. As if on que, the lake suddenly spiraled into a massive vortex at its center. The whirlpool revealed straight to the bottom floor, mostly compromised of now whithering tree roots. The sudden currents dragged Reyleigh off the shoreline and into the intense maelstrom of water. Directly above the whirlpool, 100 yards apart, a spacial anomaly ruptured. The air crackled with energy from the opening rift, air rapidly vanishing into the swirling hole into the sky. Between the two vortexes, three black spheres formed in the air. These spheres then grew rapidly, taking a vaguely humanoid shape. A set of identical giants, with elongated, malformed proportions. Their skin was an almagamation of stone, slag, and darkened tree bark. Their heads were misformed, faceless rounded stumps with a large glowing cavity at the center. Heat radiated from their gaze with an intensely bright light, like that of a spotlight.

Once they we're fully formed, both the whirlpool and vortex closed. The lake stilled. The 3 titans stood in the water, 200 feet approximately in height.

The Tall Boys

"Well shit."

The PHANTOM agent shot straight for her gear, picking her belt and earpiece out of the pile, the latter of which was blaring commands before she even touched it. She put them both on; getting dressed would unfortunately have to wait.

"Yui?! Yui!" Harper's voice was harsh, excited, more than Yui could remember it being in a long time.

"What's going on?" She asked, staring up at the three giants.

"The scanners started picking up after the key left the water. I was reading a gateway, massive amounts of spiritual energy, three Spirits, Category 3. Can you confirm?"

"They look pretty fucking big for Category 3." Yui responded. "But yes. They're not attacking yet, should I engage?"

"Just get ready."

"Yes," The agent confirmed, very glad that her handler could not see her out in a rainstorm in nothing but her underwear and a strange gadget. "I'm ready." She loaded a card, Justice, and let the power of a Spirit flow through her body as she transformed.

Ravenna gave a calm smile, though she doubted she should have felt calm. Getting worked up wasn't really in her nature, and neither was running headfirst into a fight.

'Lyra?'

An image that translated itself into obedience flashed into the woman's head as her clothing shifted again, the Traveler's Boots forming over her feet as she glanced at her companions.

"I'm afraid I'm a little out of my depth with these." But she didn't seem very remorseful. Or concerned. "All this over a little fetching errand."

Spirit Wielders!

The Event

Spirit Wielders: Lunch Disaster

Global Timeline

6:00 AM EST: Oceanographers report strange sounds originating from several hundred miles off the coast of Maryland.

7:00 AM EST: Meteorologists report a massive thunderstorm forming over the Atlantic. Despite its closeness to the shoreline, it had not previously been detected on radar.

8:00 AM EST: Coastguards receive and answer a distress call from a fishing boat identified as the Atlantic Princess. Full search and rescue operations are deployed.

9:00 AM EST: Severity of the approaching storm forces the search and rescue team to halt the operation early. Atlantic Princess believed to have been sunk or capsized.

10:00 AM EST: Along the shores of the city, panic erupts almost immediately as a great white beast emerges from the waters and sprawls onto the beach. The anomalous creature appears to walk on six legs, and a long finned tail. It has a carapace much like that of a horse show crab, and a circular mouth beneath filled with teeth and a retractable barbed tongue. Following its appearance, a swarm of arthropod-like monsters rushed the shoreline. Shortly after, the city's power grid goes dark. Radio equipment and phone lines within a 1-mile radius of the white monster cease to be functional. Citizens attempt to evacuate as the arthropods flood further inland, but are quickly overwhelmed. Many civilians are trampled, both by crowds and by beasts, and several appear to have been impaled by barbed tails or tongue-like appendages.

10:15 AM EST: Arthropods advance into the city and are met by the local police force, who are already responding to the supernatural disaster. Most firearms are revealed to be ineffective; the tough carapace from the Swarmlings able to endure light ballistic fire from standard pistols. Close range shotgun fire and precise rifle shots are able to eventually dispatch a few, but the impact is deemed insignificant. The Pale Monstrosity makes its way through the city, while the Swarmlings remain behind to pick apart civilian survivors and retaliating forces.

11:00 AM EST: City has been overrun by large groups of Swarmlings. Communications are unavailable, with suspected interference from the monsters. Outside reports detail the power-shortage to have been caused by the storm and designate it as being localized within the city. Lakewood High is ordered to shut down due to the severe weather, but the power shortage and the lack of communication forces the building into emergency disaster mode. Faculty begin to close windows and boarding them to protect from harsh winds. Candles and matches are provided as light sources, as it is quickly discovered that even battery operated flashlights are nonfunctional. Lunch faculty continue to hand out what has been prepared before the kitchen was shut down. Additional snacks are being distributed for free.

11:10 AM EST: Mass panic as monsters breach the school walls.

---

Lunch Disaster

---

Lakewood High Cafeteria | 11:10 EST

---

The cafeteria was dark and crowded. Every other table had a lit candle, whose collective flames flickered and provided some dim light as shadows danced across the walls. Even the slight reprieve from complete darkness was welcomed, though. What few staff members were present worked tirelessly to keep the lines of students orderly and calm; panic was expected, but they were trying to keep it from overwhelming the student body. Some students asked questions about family members or other people outside the school, but these queries were ignored as the lunch lady handed out food.

Ms. Summer Ford, the Language Arts Teacher at Lakewood High, was trying her best to boost morale with varying degrees of success. "It's alright," she called, her soothing voice attempting to cut through the general buzz of the students. "The storm is only supposed to last a few hours, and your parents have been contacted."

A blatant lie. The landlines and the cellphones were dead, along with all the power in the building; even the emergency lights wouldn't kick on. Plus, they had no idea how long the storm would last. Not a single person in the school had any clue as to what was going on, but it was their duty to provide some figure of stability for the children. After all, it was better to pretend as if nothing was wrong than to allow for a mass panic, right?

"Oh, I have an idea!" Ms. Ford called out, gathering the attention of the closer students. "Why don't we-"

"What the HELL is THAT!?"

The sudden cry of alarm interrupted Summer's sentence, and everyone in the cafeteria turned their heads towards the glass walls of the outside. Crawling on the window was a massive creature; something that Summer found reminiscent of a horseshoe crab, had it been enlarged and pumped full of steroids. For a moment, the room was completely silent as nobody knew what to say in the presence of such a thing.

That silence was broken by the sound of shattering glass.

Another creature, similar to the crab, had charged straight through the wall and easily broken through it. The spray of glass seemed to have no effect on the hardened exterior as it barreled through, knocking students and tables aside with ease. The previously uneasy crowd quickly devolved into pandemonium as teenagers screams and panicked, darting all different directions in an attempt to just get out of the way. Candles were jostled over in the rush to escape, spilling their hot wax across their tables and the floor, crushed underfoot as people tried to exit the cafeteria.

Summer turned her head to look for another figure of authority, her eyes stopping on the lunch lady who was about to join the fleeing crowd. In the moment their eyes met, something massive pushed its way through her face, spilling pieces of skull and brain matter across the cafeteria floor. Her limp body was lifted and tossed effortlessly to the side as the crab-monster's tail reared back, the massive barb that capped the end now glistening with fresh blood.

It's Not Delivery

---

Near Foxhole | 11:10 EST

---

'Of course they had to send me to brave the storm. As if I didn't have better things to do that get struck by lightning or some bullshit.'

Jon always complained to himself whenever he was given a task by the principle. After all, it always seemed to be him that got stuck with the little things no one else wanted to do. Janitor couldn't make it? "Oh, just put Jon on bathroom duty, he doesn't mind!" Coffee machine out of order? "Jon can drive to Foxhole! He needs an excuse to get some fresh air anyway!"

He didn't voice his complaints though. Over the years, he'd really started to enjoy his career as a gym teacher. He enjoyed the companions he made in the faculty, and the friend he could be to the students whenever it seemed like they had nobody else. These were both things that made the job worth doing, and he wasn't going to risk it just by denying the incessant requests of some 'to-big-for-his-britches' principal.

The rain dropped like bullets over his poncho, which was tucked up slightly to shield his head from the downpour. It wasn't enough to keep him completely dry, but he wasn't getting soaked at least. Having rushed through the parking lot to get to his pickup truck, he didn't waste any time to hop in the driver's seat and jam the key in the ignition. However, the car wouldn't start. He couldn't even hear the engine turning over as if it were stalled; it seemed like the shitty thing was just dead. He'd just replaced the battery in the damn thing too! What else could go wrong today?

He'd have to open the hood to inspect it. That was something he'd unfortunately gotten used to with his beat up truck, and he begrudgingly left the relative comfort of his driver's seat for the torrential downpour of this horrible storm. He'd just placed his hand under the dented hood to pull it up when he stopped: something big was moving through the woods, mere yards away from him. At first he thought it was a bear, but even bears had enough sense to avoid being out in weather like this.

Jon's jaw dropped agape as he saw the full form of the creature move out of the forest. The scuttling legs and thick, lashing tail of the Swarmling were definitely not a combination of body parts he'd seen on any creature around Lakewood, and the razor tip of its stinger hinted at a far more dangerous nature. The shock kept him frozen in place for some time as he just watched the thing slowly creep closer, but his fight or flight instincts kicked in only a moment later. Spinning on his heel, Jon felt the hard asphalt under each footstep as he sprinted back towards the school. He never cursed on school grounds before, but he couldn't stop the stream of profanities now.

"Shitshitshitshitshitshit what the fuck is that thing!?"

He reached the back door of the gym, his heart pounding as he pulled the door open. Before he could get the door open enough to squeeze through, he felt something cold and...sharp on his leg. The pain didn't even register at first, which was a small mercy for the injury he'd received. As Jon looked down, one hand on the door and the other clinging to wall, he saw that the top of his ankle had been punched straight through by some sort of tongue. It had three barbs tipped around it, each pulling strands of frayed muscle fibers through the wound as they impaled him. The fleshy part of the tongue wrapped around the leg itself, and he could feel it tugging him backwards. Something within the tongue was scraping through the injury; the skin-crawling feeling of rough scratching across bone.

Jon couldn't stop himself from screaming out in utter agony. Fear clouded his mind, and he could feel the warmth of adrenaline starting to take over his actions. He desperately tried to force his way inside, using his one good leg to push himself while both arms pulled the rest of his body through. Even though he was slowly making progress inside, the monster still clung to his leg; he could feel the circulation being cut off as the tongue wrapped itself tighter around his calf. He glanced quickly around, searching for anything that might help him in his struggle, and was rewarded with the sight of a thick, red fire extinguisher slotted into the wall on his left. He let go of the wall to reach for it, slowly being pulled back towards the maw of the beast as he smashed the emergency glass with his elbow. Though the shards cut into his skin, he barely felt the lacerations. Instead, he pulled the metal canister free, whirling around and slamming it over the tongue of the beast.

At first there was no reaction, but Jon brought the extinguisher up once more, grabbing it with both hands this time and bringing it down with all the force he could possibly muster. This time, the creature wailed in pain, and the tongue's grip seemed to loosen: he could feel the sudden warmth of blood as the circulation returned and it poured freely from his wound. With one more strike, the combination of adrenaline and primal fighting instincts guiding his arms, he brought the canister down again. The blunt impact was forceful enough to sever the tongue entirely, fluid erupting from the appendage as the Swarmling let loose a horrific screech and writhed backwards, giving Jon just enough space to slam the door shut.

He fell forward, the adrenaline not enough to support him on his injured leg. Pulling himself up against the wall, Jon inspected the damage to his left leg, or what was now left of it. Right above the ankle was a mangled layer of flayed skin, and he could see bone, tissue, and muscle that had been carved out through the puncture wound. The joint itself was twisted and broken, and he could feel the warm sting of tears in his eyes as he slowly tried to pull himself up. When he could not muster enough strength for that, he pulled himself feebly across the gymnasium floor, leaving a long smear of crimson from where his ankle was bleeding at an alarming rate.

"Help!" he cried out, giving another pull. "Anybody? Someone, help me!"

Delinquents

---

Lakewood High| 11:10 EST

---

"Why aren't we getting food right now?" complained a high-school boy. Garry was hungry, and this little detour of theirs meant that they were missing out on all the snacks in the cafeteria. He adjusted his glasses slightly, squinting his eyes to make anything out in the near-darkness.

"The line is way too long; I've got a secret stash in my locker we can dig into." said Vincent, grinning cockily as he turned to face his peer. He walked backwards for a moment, never taking his hands out of his pockets, while Garry scrunched his face in a mixture of confusion and disgust.

"Who the fuck calls anything a secret stash? You du-"

"HOLY SHIT! Fucking RUN!" interrupted Trevor, pointing forward at the new arrival in the hallway. Down at the other end a Swarmling skidded around a corner and crashed up against the lockers, unable to find purchase on the smooth, tiled floors. The sound of screeching metal echoed through the otherwise silent halls, the lockers nearly bent in half from the weight of the creature. It only took a moment to right itself, and began scurrying towards them with astonishing speed.

Vincent and Garry were already turning in place, their bodies registering Trevor's order moments before their minds did. While Vincent bolted the other direction and Garry only steps behind, Trevor remained where he was. He pumped his fists together, another metallic slamming noise echoing down the hallway. Cold steel wrapped itself around his hands, seeming to fold and melt across his skin before solidifying into a pair of ornate gauntlets. He put one foot backwards, bracing himself for the approaching creature.

"Alright ugly; let's go."

An Asshole Appears

With the screeching sound of rubber on asphalt, a motorcycle skidded out of control and toppled into some trees near the Lakeview Highschool. The bike was wrecked, and as the driver was flung over the handlebars and into the foliage, there didn't seem to be any hope that he would come out any better. Miraculously, however, the driver confidently strode out of the brush moments later. He wasn't wearing a helmet at the time of impact, but the only sign of harm on him was the trickle of blood that poured down from his forehead and past his sunglasses. His personality seemed to be easily discerned from his blatant disregard for road safety, and the fact that he was wearing sunglasses while the sun itself was blocked out by a hurricane. If this was what a savior looked like, the people currently trapped in the school were likely better off with the Swarmlings.

"Yeah, I'm here." the gentleman said to nobody, flicking droplets of blood onto the ground where they could mix with the downpour. As he spoke, he held forward a small trinket shaped like a cockroach, watching for any signs of activity. "What's that?" he asked, pausing for an unheard answer. "Yeah, yeah, hold on a second."

The biker closed his hand over the trinket, turning to look towards the lake. The White Shark creature was slowly sprawling into the waters, but then seemed to stop suddenly. There was a ripple of force across its body as it was pushed backwards. The creature let out a guttural snarl in response, seemingly out of place for its shark-like exterior, but frightening nonetheless.

"Yeah, something appears to be preventing him from that." the biker said, seemingly speaking directly into the cockroach trinket. He lifted his head slightly to shout towards the battle: "Hey Ryleigh! You doing okay, you fatass!?"

While there was no verbal response, a spray of water was launched directly into the man's face. Annoyed and spluttering, he wiped the water from his brow with a gloved hand, leaning back into the trinket to speak. "Yeah, he's alright. Still a bitch though." He paused for another moment, as if he were listening to something.

"Yo! Ry! Did you try-" he started, yelling towards the behemoth creature. It seemed that whatever he was talking to was already ahead of him, however. While the White Shark opened its massive jaws to snarl again, water from the surface of the lake rose up and snaked through the air towards it. The streams forced their way into the maw of the best, pumping in furiously as it seemed to spill from the creature's gills and into the parking lot behind it.

---

---

Objectives!

Main Objective (Everyone needs to do this):

• Don't die.

Optional Objectives (Not required, but may influence the story):

• Save people, kill the bugs in the school.
• Fight the big monster outside.
• Help the city?
• Help the monsters?(Why?)
• Bully the asshole.

The Monsters

Ryleigh
A 20 meter long, 10 meter tall white monstrosity. Its body resembles an enlarged hammerhead shark. However instead of any fins, it has six long and muscular human-like arms. As a boss monster you should collab with me for any combat or interaction with it.

The Swarmlings

They range from the size of a large dog to a bear. Tough carapace but can be dispatched with mild difficulty. They also have a barbed tongue. They will generally attack the closest human to them and won't discriminate their targets. As fodder enemies you are free to control them for your own combat. There are about 30 total: 15 outside the school, 5 in the cafeteria, 5 on the roof, and 5 spread out in the halls.

Spirit Wielders!

The Foxhole | Monday | 8:00 AM

---

Mornings in the Foxhole were always different from the rest of the day.

Ravenna hummed softly to herself, the smell of hot coffee wafting through the establishment even in the earliest hours of the cafe's opening. In the afternoon, the little shop was already in the swing of things, and if she were completely honest, typically had more teens than other age groups. The woman didn't mind, of course, but there was something pleasant about the mornings, where the only people around were the regulars that came in a set schedule. The shop would be bustling later, but in the morning, it was a quiet domain. Peaceful, maybe.

That was probably why she'd seen familiar faces coming by more often than not, if she were honest. There had been unrest in the city as of late, a stark uptick in crime coming in response to paranoia, terrorism, and people that simply...vanished. That, added to the sudden groups of religious extremists and theorists, had probably been enough for anyone to seek out the comfort of routine. Better than routine, even, considering the decided lack of any attempts to invade the Foxhole, as far as the public was aware.

Ravenna couldn't really take credit for that though. Not with Rust being Rust.

"Hmmm, Ron will want a scone with extra jam, and Laura will want her bagel untoasted..." Those two were like clockwork. Every morning at the same time, the same order. After a while, the barista had managed to get the timing for having their orders ready as soon as they walked through the door. "Must be a fulfilling routine..."

Speaking of which, the school year was starting up again, wasn't it? That would mean a lot of returning business after the lengthy summer holidays, wouldn't it? She hummed to herself ever the more as she thought of how productive the mornings were bound to become.

There was a jingle at the door, the sign of a customer. A familiar brown haired man in a tank top and sweat pants had arrived, right on schedule. He took his usual seat at the bar, smiling with a wave toward the barista. "Morning Rav, I'll have my usual." The gym teacher leaned back in his stool, with one hand idly moving through his own messy brown hair. He had a bit of stubble yet to be shaved, and his eyes showed hints of improper sleep. Typical from his summer habits of a night owl.

On schedule, as always... if a little more unkempt than usual. Ravenna flashed a smile at John as she removed a portion of said usual from the toaster oven.

"Morning, Digiorno. Coming back to being diurnal?" A cup of fresh coffee was poured and set in its usual place, the light teasing note in Ravenna's voice impossible to miss even while she busied herself with plating the rest of the gym teacher's breakfast.

He was never able to avoid a smile hearing that stupid nickname, with an exaggerated sigh and eye roll that followed like a routine. "I swear if you didn't have this cafe I would have abandoned mornings altogether." He humored, taking a sip of his coffee. "I don't know how you can get yourself every morning for this."

"Could be plenty of reasons," Ravenna started. Plates and utensils were set with a sense of familiarity that came with years of practice, the sound minimal despite the movement. "Like maybe I look forward to seeing your cute face in the morning?"

A laugh fell upon the mildly tan teacher, his cheeks lightly flushed. "Always so forward Rav. You're lucky you don't have any other customers at the moment."

"My, my, saying I'm lucky to be spending a morning alone with you? And you call me forward." The barista chuckled, a soft melodic sound that didn't disturb the peace of the cafe. "So, what have you been doing all summer, John? Thinking of new ways to make sure your kids are tired and hungry after class?"

"If I was that dedicated I should have went for a drill sergeant." He took another sip of his coffee after a quick chuckle. "What about you? How has your summer been?"

"Hmm, nothing too different. I missed a few regulars, I guess." Ravenna claimed, the easy smile still lingering on her lips as she returned to the task of prepping for the next regulars that would inevitably come through the door. "Luckily, it looks like crime doesn't like my little shop."

She smiled at her first customer of the day, even as she heard some semblance of a scoff resound in her head. Tyet had never been much for the small talk.

"But it is less lonely in the mornings with all the Lakewood High regulars on their way back. I guess I should welcome you home."

"Well I missed you too Rav." He said with a smile as he downed the rest of his morning brew. "Maybe we could catch a movie sometime. You free friday night?"

"Only with a coupon," Ravenna teased in response. [color=cf9af]"But I can make an exception just for you. Friday night sounds lovely."[/color]

"Alright, I'll pick you up at 8." He finished his morning fix, and already started to fish in his pockets for his wallets. "That work for you?" He'd pay his usual bill with a 20% tip, teacher's salaries be damned.

""More than enough, Digiorno."

The teacher gave a smirk at her once last time before waving his hand as he left the store.